The Crown and the Cross: The Life of Christ Page 5

  For a brief period under Syrian rule, however, Hellenism triumphed in Israel, and the high priest became hardly more than a Greek puppet, even participating in the worship of Greek gods. Antiochus IV entered the city and desecrated the temple in a vain attempt to destroy Judaism’s remaining opposition to the Greek philosophies. The result was a period of national scourging for Israel from which a hard core of resistance emerged, strengthened in its determination to lead the people back to the old faith. Calling themselves the Chassidim, these “pious ones” chose death rather than allow the few copies of the Torah they possessed to be destroyed.

  In the midst of this period of national chastening, a new hope arose, manifested in a mixture of poetry, song, and prophecy known as the apocalyptic writings. God, the pious Chassidim believed, would soon send them a deliverer, the “Anointed One,” “Messiah,” or “Son of Man” to set up the kingdom of the Most High on earth. Thus, in degradation and despair as once before in servitude in far-off Babylon, the Jews were buoyed up and given courage to resist paganism by the promise of delivery from oppression. As it happened, they were delivered, for the time being, by a group of their own leaders, sons of a priest called Mattathias.

  When Appeles, an agent of Antiochus, ordered a heathen sacrifice at the town of Modin in the hills of Judea, an old priest named Mattathias killed the Jewish priest who was carrying out the insult to their God. The five sons of Mattathias—John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar, and Jonathan—killed Appeles and led with their father to the mountains, where they quickly gathered a small band of the Chassidim who had been driven out of Jerusalem by the forces of Antiochus, as well as by others who hated Syrian rule.

  Under the leadership of the Maccabees, a name given the sons of Mattathias from the nickname “hammerer” of Judas, the great military leader of the group, what was actually a holy war began. Pitted in the struggle were the Hellenized chief priests in Jerusalem and the Syrian forces of Antiochus on one side, against the Maccabees, who came to be known also as the Hasmoneans, with their followers on the other.

  A series of almost incredible victories followed for Judas Maccabaeus. One year later, he and his forces entered Jerusalem victorious, and three years from the day the first desecration of the holy altar had occurred, a sacrifice to the Most High God was offered upon it.

  The military success of Judas Maccabaeus led him and his brothers, who successively ruled as priest-kings of Israel, to embark upon a program of conquest and expansion which almost restored the glories of David and Solomon to the land. Practically all the territory from the hills north of Galilee to the border of Egypt on the south and from the deserts of Arabia on the east to the seacoast on the west came under control of Israel, although its grip upon this broad area was never complete and constant fighting was required to maintain it.

  During the rule of John Hyrcanus, many of the Chassidim began to have reservations about high priests who spent more time wielding the sword than worshiping God. Particularly hated was the Idumaean, Antipater, who had become the chief adviser of the Hasmonean house.

  About this time a new group among the Pharisees, the scribes, arose. Highly versed in the Torah and in interpreting the Law, they began to assume an important place as teachers or rabbis and the true religious leaders of Israel. Meanwhile the wily Antipater was steadily conniving in the background, playing off various members of the royal Hasmonean house against each other.

  When Rome, during the period of expansion spearheaded by Julius Caesar, conquered the old Seleucid kingdom, Syria was made a province, and Pompey moved south to seize Palestine, ending the brief period of the Jews’ independence. The Greek cities of the Decapolis across the Jordan and beyond the Sea of Galilee were cut off from Judea. Samaria and Galilee were put under the rule of Syria and the thriving Greek cities along the Mediterranean coast were made independent. Hyrcanus II, a Hasmonean, served as the tetrarch of Jerusalem but Antipater was now the real power behind the considerably diminished throne of Judea.

  Herod, the son of Antipater, served the Romans as well as had his father. Appointed first as governor of Galilee, he shortly came into virtual control of Judea and eventually was designated by the Emperor Augustus as “King of the Jews,”

  Doubly hated, both by the Hasmoneans and their supporters because he had attained the throne for himself, and by the Jewish nationalists because of his service to Rome, Herod set about to endear himself to his subjects by building the great new temple which quickly began drawing Jews from all over the world to reconsecrate themselves to the worship of their God. It also brought money to Jerusalem, both in tribute and in business, and the whole area entered upon a season of unparalleled prosperity.

  Prosperity for the Jews, as for many another people in history, had the effect of lessening nationalistic fervor. Weakening the opposition to Rome and Herod, it at the same time encouraged religious conservatism. A few zealots, often called sicarii because they carried daggers and occasionally used them, sporadically demonstrated against the foreign rulers with short-lived uprisings, but were put down ruthlessly.

  Evidence of Herod’s greatness as a temporal king, if not of his subservience to the Jewish God whom he at least pretended to worship, was everywhere: in the glorious beauty of the temple, the great arenas and amphitheaters that dotted the land, beautiful cities like Sepphoris, Sebaste, and of course the new city of Caesarea, erected upon the site of what had been called Strato’s Tower, with a fine harbor formed by extending a great stone mole into the sea. But though honored by Rome and valued as one of the most dependable of the secondary rulers by Augustus Caesar, Herod found no peace in his latter days. His body wracked by illness, he was forced even on his sickbed to keep a constant watch for those who plotted against him, including his own sons.

  Small wonder was it then that Herod felt the cold hand of fear gripping his heart when word was brought to him one day that three wise men from Arabia sought audience inquiring, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?”

  II

  Herod’s pale, almost colorless eyes were unmoved as he heard his chamberlain repeat the question of the wise men. He had killed thousands in order to erase all who might have a claim to the throne he occupied, at one time destroying forty-five members of the highest court, the Sanhedrin, including many prominent members of the Hasmonean dynasty which had furnished kings to Israel. With this record of treachery and murder behind him, he would have no hesitation in putting to death, if he could locate Him, any newborn king.

  For many hundreds of years the Jews had longed for the coming of the one they called the Messiah, or the Lord’s Anointed, but no two of them seemed to have the same opinion concerning this Expected One. That He would be among the descendants of David was generally accepted, since the bloodline of the first really great king of Israel was the noblest and most honored among the Jews.

  “Before the first oppressor was born,” the ancient writings said of the Messiah, “the final Deliverer was already born.” This could only mean that the leader would be a true “Son of the Living God,” another Moses sent to free Israel from the present oppression as truly as it had been delivered from slavery under Pharaoh and led out of Egypt. News of the birth of a new king indicated to Herod that this might possibly be the expected Messiah; hence his fear.

  “Shall I send the wise men on their way, noble Herod?” asked the chamberlain who had brought word of them.

  The king shook his head. “Bring them in. I will question them myself.”

  Tall and dark-skinned, richly dressed and assured in manner, the men were far different from the rascally soothsayers of Arabia and the countries east of the Jordan who thronged to Jerusalem to prey upon travelers. They bowed courteously before Herod, showing the homage due him as king of Israel.

  “What question would you ask me?” Herod inquired.

  The tallest and eldest of the ambassadors answered for the group. �
�We would know where is He that is born King of the Jews.”

  “I am King of the Jews.”

  The soothsayer shrugged. “It is written, ‘No man shall live forever.’”

  “My sons shall rule in my stead,” Herod insisted.

  The question might well have been asked whether Herod would have any sons when the time came for the scepter of kingship to pass on to another. He had married many women and had many offspring by them, yet his constant fear that one of them would assassinate him and seize the throne led him to destroy many of his own offspring, while sending others into virtual banishment.

  The tall Magus did not belabor the point. “We have seen His star in the East,” he said quietly, “and have come to worship Him.”

  Herod shuddered and his body seemed to shrivel beneath the mantle of Tyrian purple about his shoulders. The seers of the East knew the stars like the streets of their own cities. If a new one had appeared and guided these men across the desert from the land of Yemen, whose kings also professed the Jewish faith, it could mean that the birth of the king they had announced was indeed no ordinary event but a sign auguring the coming of the Anointed One.

  “What of this star?” Herod demanded.

  “We are not of one opinion concerning its nature, noble king,” another of the Magi admitted. “Some of us believe several bright stars are lying close together at this particular time. Others think it is a new star of unusual brightness.”

  “When did you first see it?”

  “More than a year ago.”

  Herod frowned. If the men spoke truth, and he had no reason to believe they did not, valuable time had been lost and he must waste no more in finding out where this King of the Jews had been born.

  “Rest here a while,” he told the Magi. “I will see that you are given refreshment and we will speak again soon about where this babe may be found. It may be that someone among the priests and scholars will know from the ancient writings the location of His birth.”

  As soon as the visitors were out of the room Herod summoned the high priest and others among the priestly hierarchy who worked closely with him in Jerusalem. Belonging to the party known popularly as the Sadducees, the chief priests had perhaps known more prosperity and favor during the reign of Herod than in any previous period since the kingdom of Solomon, and were heavily obligated to him. To them Herod put the question, “Where shall the Christ be born?”

  The least learned among the priests knew the answer, for the prophet Micah had written long ago: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

  Even Herod understood that this prophecy referred to no ordinary king. The phrase “whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting,” must mean that the ruler who would one day come out of Bethlehem had been eternal with God from the beginning. And that description fit only the Messiah.

  Herod knew now that he must take immediate steps to destroy this newborn child who threatened everything for which he had worked. After sending the priests and scribes away, he called the wise men from Arabia to him again.

  “Go and search carefully for the young Child,” he told them. “When you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

  The Magi left Jerusalem at once. Hardly were they outside the city when the star, which they had not been able to see for several nights and whose absence had led them to go to Jerusalem and ask Herod where the newborn king might be found, shone bright and clear before them. Nor did it falter in its brilliance all the way to Bethlehem and the home of Joseph the carpenter.

  Chapter 5

  When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt.

  Matthew 2:14

  Joseph and Mary had been disturbed by the coming of the shepherds to the inn on the night Jesus was born and the strange story they told of a voice from heaven announcing the birth of the Christ. In spite of the visits of the angel to Mary before her conception and to Joseph in the dream, they did not yet really understand the true identity of the child they had been instructed to call Jesus. But as the days passed uneventfully in Bethlehem and Joseph began to establish himself there as a carpenter and builder, the memory of those events had begun to grow faint. After Mary had accomplished the rite of purification in the temple and the child had been redeemed, their lives had once again taken up the even tenor to which they were accustomed. Bethlehem was a larger city than Nazareth and its proximity to Jerusalem, in addition to the fact that he had kinsfolk there, made it a more profitable place for Joseph to work, so he and Mary were soon busy in the quiet and pleasant life both preferred.

  The coming of the dark-skinned Magi from Arabia had sharply interrupted the routine of their lives, and the stories the men told of being guided by a star to the birthplace of the King of the Jews had been disturbing. Even the precious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh showered upon the baby by the visitors were out of place in the humble home of Joseph and Mary, and they were afraid that once the wise men were gone, an envious neighbor might report them to Herod’s police on a charge of having stolen the treasures which were so obviously beyond their meager means.

  Nor did their conversation with the Magi ease the minds of Joseph and Mary. The visitors from Arabia had not been deceived by Herod’s pretext of wanting to locate the baby in order to worship Him. They strongly warned Joseph against the king and even left for their own country by a route which did not take them back to Jerusalem.

  Thus, at a time when they were just becoming pleasantly situated in Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary faced the urgent necessity of fleeing in order to save Jesus from Herod. The strange visit of the Magi and the lavish gifts the men from the East had brought, to say nothing of the story of how they had been guided on the long journey westward from Arabia, had caused considerable talk in Bethlehem. And with the town almost in the shadow of the grim castle called the Herodeion, word might spread to Herod almost any day.

  Joseph’s first impulse was to return to Nazareth, but Herod ruled there too, and if any more events like those which had taken place since the birth of Jesus occurred, the king’s attention must certainly be drawn to them, even in Galilee. The Samaritan country north of Jerusalem was likewise in Herod’s territory; besides, they could hope for no refuge among the Samaritans, who hated the Jews as intensely as the Jews hated them. Only one route of flight seemed at all safe, that southward by way of Hebron into Egypt, the route Abraham had taken more than two thousand years before when famine had driven him from Canaan. But that meant going into an alien land with all the hardships and uncertainty such a journey entailed.

  Joseph tried to hide his troubled thoughts from Mary as he finished his chores and lay down to sleep. Busy caring for the child and still excited over the homage of the Magi and the precious gifts brought to Jesus, Mary did not fully realize the extent of the danger that faced them. Besides, women were accustomed to leaving such questions and decisions to the men of the family.

  For a while Joseph could not sleep. His mind surveyed again and again the possibilities that lay before them, but could find nothing reassuring in any course they might follow. Finally he slept from sheer weariness and almost immediately began to dream. In his dream he heard once again the voice of the angel who had spoken to him at the time when he was considering putting Mary away with a letter of divorcement after learning that she was already with child. And as on that other occasion, the angelic voice resolved his uncertainty.

  “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt,” the angel directed. “And stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

  Awakening, Joseph did not hesitate to obey. Rousing Mary, he began making preparations for the journ
ey. Flight into Egypt meant leaving everything they had gained in Bethlehem—a home, Joseph’s business as a carpenter, the kinsmen and friends who had welcomed them. But when Joseph repeated the words of the angel to Mary, she did not hesitate. While she gathered their clothing together, Joseph went to arouse a kinsman and purchase a second mule to carry their possessions and the gifts of the Magi. He could not risk waiting for the regular markets to open in the morning, for there had been an urgency to the voice in the dream that warned him no time was to be lost.

  The kinsman who was routed from his bed asked questions, but Joseph put him off as best he could while they bargained for the mule. Because of the urgency, he paid a higher price than he would have had to pay in the regular market, and most of his supply of coins was used up in buying the animal. He did not worry about that, however. The gold given them by the Magi as a present for the child, as well as the valuable gifts of frankincense and myrrh, could be readily exchanged in Egypt for lodging and the necessities of life, but he did not dare display them there in Bethlehem lest word reach the authorities and he be held on suspicion of theft before they could escape from the country.

  Mary was saddened at having to leave Bethlehem, but the danger to Jesus put all other considerations from her mind. While Joseph was buying the mule, she busied herself binding up their meager possessions into packs which could be strapped on the backs of the animals. The gifts of the Magi she carefully secreted in the middle of a roll containing extra clothing and their sleeping pallets. What food was in the house was wrapped in a cloth so it could be lashed to the back of one of the mules along with the waterskin and their few cooking utensils.

  Joseph’s tools formed an important part of their belongings and these were carefully placed in a goatskin bag. With them he would need only a few moments’ work in their new home to prove his skill as a carpenter. Artisans such as he moved about frequently, and the tools, plus proof of his ability to use them, were the only passport they needed in a world where the famous Pax Romana had opened the borders of all countries, except the few areas on the fringes of the empire where fighting was still going on.